[2] He was admitted to the bar and joined the White Plains firm that eventually became known as Kent, Hazzard, Jaeger, Greer, Wilson, and Fay.

[8] Wilson's political and legal careers were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.

[9] He joined the United States Navy as an ensign in June 1943 and trained at the Little Creek, Virginia Armed Guard School.

[9] He served as a gun crew commander on Liberty ships, including duty in the British Isles and the Mediterranean, and also took part in the Operation Overlord invasion of Normandy.

The Rockefeller-Wilson ticket defeated the incumbent Democrats W. Averell Harriman and George DeLuca.

Throughout his tenure, he tended to agree with Rockefeller's liberal Republicanism, with the notable exception of abortion, the legalization of which Wilson opposed.

In December 1973, Rockefeller resigned as governor to run the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, and Wilson assumed the governorship.

His warning turned out to be prescient when New York City was found to be nearly bankrupt, and had to resort to federal assistance to regain a sound footing.

The period was a difficult one for the nation, both in terms of economic and foreign policy and for the Republican Party, which was weakened by the Watergate scandal.

Democrats swept to power across the nation in the 1974 general election, with Wilson losing the governorship to Hugh Carey, who won with 57% of the vote.